Schnitzer gives $5,000 to Portland Art Center

The financially struggling Portland Art Center got another boost from a major patron. Arlene Schnitzer has committed a $5,000 donation to the nascent Old Town-based non-profit.

The $5,000 is one of several recent donations to the art center, which is $40,000 in the red for both back rent and administrative expenses.

But it may prove to be one of the most influential, following another donation by Portland philanthropist and artist Henry Hillman, Jr.

The center's director, Gavin Shettler, says Schnitzer called earlier this week after reading about the art center's difficulties in The Oregonian and Hillman's attempt to rescue the struggling arts organization.

Last week, Hillman announced that he would oversee a restructuring of the center's staff and board. He also offered the art center a matching grant of up to $20,000 based on the sales of its current month-long fundraiser, which began Wednesday night. The center is selling 300 specially made artwork panels created by local artists and on display at the center's Old Town location. Hillman says he'll match the total sales of the panels, which cost $300 each.

Schnitzer's gift is an individual donation and not part of the current fundraiser, says Shettler, so Hillman won't have to match it.

Still, following Hillman's announcement, Schnitzer's gift should have ripples. The center, says Shettler and board members, needs to expand its public appeal and donor base beyond the young, energetic creatives that are its foundation. The center, they say, needs to become a more professional organization.

For more history on the Portland Art Center and its recent struggles, go here.